KATHMANDU, Nov. 9 -- The latest annual report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) has revealed an interesting trend: candidates whose parents are illiterate or have only primary education are performing better in civil service examinations than those from more educated families.

According to the report for fiscal year 2081/82, recently submitted to President Ramchandra Paudel, 41.44 percent of successful candidates' fathers had only primary education, while 16.20 percent were illiterate. Similarly, 48.69 percent of the mothers had only primary schooling, and 33.33 percent were illiterate. In contrast, only 20.61 percent of fathers and 6.7 percent of mothers of successful candidates had attained higher education.

The data suggests tha...